LOS ANGELES, Oct. 26, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Southwestern Law School, one of the leading entertainment law schools in the U.S., will honor Russell J. Frackman with the first presentation of the Donald E. Biederman Legacy Award at an event in Beverly Hills tonight.
The Biederman Award is a prestigious honor that will recognize a highly respected member of the bench or bar who "upholds the highest standards of ethics and professionalism as a leader in entertainment and media law." Frackman, a partner at the Los Angeles-based law firm Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp, was selected by Southwestern for his achievements and contributions to the profession throughout a 42-year career.
The Donald E. Biederman Entertainment and Media Law Institute and the Biederman Legacy Award are named in memory of Professor Donald E. Biederman, a highly admired teacher, scholar and pioneer in the world of entertainment and media law and the Institute's founding director. Frackman was a close friend, client and partner of Biederman for more than three decades.
"Russ Frackman is a gentleman-lawyer who embodies many of the wonderful personal and professional qualities for which my dad was known and loved," said Jeff Biederman, who is a partner at Manatt Phelps & Phillips. "He was also a dear friend of my father's, so it is most fitting that Russ is the first recipient of the Donald E. Biederman Legacy Award."
Frackman is a nationally renowned lawyer in the entertainment industry and is recognized for his stewardship of many of the most important copyright and trademark cases to have been litigated in recent years. He is regarded as one of the nation's leading entertainment and intellectual property litigators, having successfully represented clients in a number of landmark cases in state and federal trial and appellate courts, including his work as lead counsel for the record company plaintiffs in the seminal Internet file sharing litigation, A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios v. Grokster. Mr. Frackman was also the lawyer in two precedent-setting 2004 decisions involving the scope of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
"I am honored to have been selected as the first recipient of an award celebrating the legacy of Donald Biederman," Frackman stated. "Those of us who were privileged to know and work with Don Biederman appreciate that his legacy reflects the highest standards of professional conduct and legal expertise that he brought to the practice of law and as founding director of the National Entertainment and Media Law Institute at Southwestern University School of Law that now bears his name."
Frackman will be presented the award tonight at the Donald E. Biederman Entertainment & Media Law Institute Awards reception, which will take place at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills. The event is hosted by the Biederman Institute and Southwestern's Entertainment and Intellectual Property Alumni Association.
For more than 100 years, Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP has maintained a reputation for excellence in providing sophisticated legal and business solutions for its clients in areas that include: Litigation, Intellectual Property & Technology, Labor & Employment, Entertainment & New Media, Immigration, Corporate Transactions, Bankruptcy, Homeland Security, Tax, Trust & Estates, Real Estate, and International Trade. Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP has offices in Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit http://www.msk.com.